


The Shades and The Hair

by Heart_Seoul_Soshi



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/F, future characters tbd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-01
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2019-01-07 21:59:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12241422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heart_Seoul_Soshi/pseuds/Heart_Seoul_Soshi
Summary: Never go into business with family.  When rising music star Evie fires her oppressive momager, mommy dearest doesn't take too kindly to sudden unemployment.  For Evie's own safety, new manager Audrey enlists the services of personal bodyguards, one by the name of Lonnie—and one by the name of Mal.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> from an anonymous request on tumblr

_“You’re FIRING me?!”_

_Evie couldn’t help it, she flinched._  
  
_“Mom…mother, it’s just…this isn’t the way I want to do things anymore,” Evie desperately tried to explain.  "You’re so concerned about my looks and my appearance, my stage presence, you don’t even care about my music anymore.“_  
  
_"A pretty face can sell anything, dear.  A pretty voice will sell much less.”_  
  
_“You see, that’s exactly what I’m talking about.  We don’t care about the same things.   I care about the people who come to me and tell me how much my music means to them, how it’s helped them, given them strength or courage or inspiration.  You just care about the money.”_  
  
_“That money you sneer at is what keeps us out of that crumbling house and life of ruin we came from,” her mother narrowed her eyes._  
  
_“Mommy, I’m sorry.  It’s nothing against you, I just don’t want you to be my manager anymore.  Of course you’ll still get part of the money, you don’t have to worry about—”_  
  
_“You’re sorry?  …No, Evie dear, not yet.  But you will be.”_

* * *

Sitting on the curb among blinding, flashing lights of blue and red, Evie realized she should’ve taken those words to heart when they’d been uttered two months ago.  
  
An unmistakable pink Mustang zoomed onto the scene just then, cluttering the already-packed roadside with yet another car.  Evie had lost track of just how many cars were out here with her, some of them had gotten lost in the dark. She knew there was the police car, the ambulance, another police car, her car, the other car, probably some paparazzi cars pulling up in the shadows, maybe a news crew, and now, Audrey’s Mustang.  
  
“Evie!  Oh my _god!_ ” Audrey’s voice cut straight through the bustle and chaos of the night after her door slammed shut, and the clicking of her heels against the asphalt cut through Evie’s zoned-out thoughts.  
  
“…I’m okay, Audrey,” she told her when she’d stomped close enough.  
  
“Says who?  Says you?  I don’t think so.  Hey!” Audrey turned and snapped her fingers at two medics standing by the ambulance.  "You wanna stop hanging around and do your jobs?“  
  
"Audrey, they already checked me over.  I’m fine, my driver’s fine, everyone’s fine.”  
  
“And  _that_ guy?” Audrey jerked her head at the smashed up car crashed perpendicular to Evie’s ride.  
  
“Took off running,” Evie sighed.  
  
“Took off running??” Audrey repeated.  "What does…oh my god, did that evil queen put someone up to crashing into you?!“  
  
"Don’t call her that,” Evie sighed again.  
  
“Hello!  Your mother just tried to kill you!” Audrey whipped out her cellphone and typed like a madwoman.  "Alright, that hag is about to get  _slammed_  with charges!“  
  
"Audrey, don’t,” Evie looked up at her.  "There’s no real proof that she had anything to do with it, and I don’t want this to blow up and be a bigger deal than it actually is.“  
  
Audrey tore her fiery gaze away from her phone.  
  
"Uh, Evie, it is a  _very_  big deal.”  
  
Evie stood up from the curb, brushed off her jeans.  
  
“Hey, I know you mean well, but it’s already been a very long night and I’m very tired,” she softly said.  "They said I’m all free and clear to go, so can we be free and clear to go?“  
  
Audrey was by no means about to let the conversation drop there, but she could see the sheer exhaustion coming off her friend in waves.  
  
”…Hop in,“ she put her phone away and gestured to her car.  
  
Evie tiredly climbed into the passenger seat and buckled up, with Audrey revving the engine.  
  
"Sometimes I worry you’re a little bit  _too_ nice,” Audrey frowned.  
  
“She’s my mom.”  
  
“Who threatened you months ago and paid to have a looney drive into you, but okay.”  
  
Evie rubbed her head as Audrey began to drive away.  
  
“I’m surprised the paparazzi wasn’t all over this,” Evie said.  
  
“Don’t worry, they’ll find out somehow.  Probably the evil queen calling into Channel 5 herself to tip someone off.”  
  
“You’re right, this will be all over the news tomorrow,” Evie groaned, dreading the thought.  
  
“I’m your manager, I’ll take care of it.  You just go home, run some hot water, use that bath bomb I got you, unwind, go to sleep.  I’ll handle everything.”  
  
“Audrey, everyone came out of this unharmed and alive.  Please do not track down my mother and slap her with a lawsuit over something we really can’t prove.”  
  
“Me?” Audrey said innocently.  "I’d do no such thing.“

* * *

The doorbell rang fairly early.  Evie had her schedule down to a T, and she knew Audrey wouldn’t be coming to collect her for outfit fittings until at least noon, but still she rolled out of bed and shuffled across her apartment.  With a tiny yawn, she unlocked and opened the front door.  
  
"Audrey, what are you—?”  
  
“Aha!  There, you see?  Failed step one.”  
  
There was Audrey out in the hallway, with all her familiarity, but there was some  _un_ familiarity out there with her too.  Two girls standing on either side of her, one Asian and looking like she’d be the sweetest thing until you pissed her off, the other sporting purple hair and a take-no-shit glower. Suddenly aware of the fact that she was standing in front of strangers in her pajamas, Evie shyly hid behind the door a little.  
  
“…Audrey, what’s up?  Failed step one of what?”  
  
“Of taking your safety into your own hands!  I got you an apartment with a peephole for a reason!  Use it!”  
  
“In an apartment complex with a security gate and 24/7 guards.  I figured anyone who could make it all the way up to the front door was all right.”  
  
“Figure again, superstar,” Audrey jabbed a finger at her.  "Meet your bodyguards, Lonnie and Mal.“  
  
She gestured to the brunette and the girl with purple hair in turn.  
  
"Wha—? Bodyguards??” Evie blurted, stepping out from the door.  "Audrey, I’m not the type of person who needs bodyguards!“   
  
"You are about to go on your first cross-country tour, and your mother is a lunatic.  Yes you do.”  
  
“And we’re professionals,” Lonnie said.  
  
Mal took off the sunglasses she had been wearing and looked Evie up and down with a smirk.  
  
“Nice hair,” she said, noting the dyed blue of Evie’s.  
  
“…Same goes to you,” Evie politely said back, opening the front door wide.  "Come on in, guys.  Audrey, I need a quick word with you.“  
  
"Have a sentence,” Audrey cooly said, striding into the apartment with Mal and Lonnie in tow.  
  
Evie met her in the kitchen, resting her hands on the island as she scrambled to find words.  
  
“Audrey, I…last night was just a freak accident, it doesn’t mean that—”  
  
“Stopping you right there,” Audrey raised a hand.  "Listen, this isn’t  _just_  about your mother.  Is she at the top of the list? Of course, but this is bigger than just her.  Evie, you’ve already reached one-name idol status.  Madonna, Evie, Cher, Shakira; you’re up there with the greats.  Now as your manager, I am doing my very best to keep your privacy and your safety in check, but with your mom out there swearing revenge like a damn Disney villain, it’s only a matter of time before we end up in hot water.“  
  
"Okay, but if you’re really so worried about my mother, it’s not like having bodyguards around will help much.  Do you really think Lonnie and Mal being nearby will stop someone from ramming another car into me?”  
  
“You haven’t seen Lonnie backflip, alright?  I’m convinced the girl has superpowers,” Audrey whipped out her phone to read and answer a string of emails that had just dinged through.  "Alright, only because I adore you, we’ll compromise.  Give the bodyguards a try for two weeks.  Two weeks, while we get everything settled into place for your tour.  If you don’t feel like it’s working for you, then against my better judgement I’ll let them go and figure something else out. Deal?“  
  
She clicked her phone closed, looking back up at Evie.  Evie couldn’t argue, or continue to disapprove in any way.  She knew it was fair.  
  
”…Deal,“ she agreed.  "Then I take it Mal and Lonnie are tagging along to the outfit fitting?”  
  
“Of course.  Why?”  
  
“Nothing, it’s just…that Mal looks like she’d break into hives sitting around skirts and dresses for three hours,” Evie giggled.  
  
“You two will get along perfectly with your weird hair.”  
  
“My hair isn’t weird!”  
  
“And blue and purple are right next to each other on the color wheel, you’ll make it work.  Why don’t we all go out for breakfast, yeah?  Kick the whole bonding thing into high gear.”  
  
“…Yeah, sure,” Evie agreed with a slow nod.  "But I don’t think bodyguards are actually supposed to do ‘the whole bonding thing’ with their charges, don’t they have to avoid personal attachments?“  
  
"You watch too much tv.  These girls are gonna be your new best friends.” 


	2. Chapter 2

Turning the ringer on her phone down. That’s what Evie had forgotten to do before bed last night. A fact she was now sorely regretting as her phone blared to life at 6:45 a.m.  
  
“…Hello?” she answered with a yawn and closed eyes after fumbling around blindly for her cell for a moment.  
  
“Rise and shine, superstar,” Audrey’s wide-awake voice was in Evie’s ear.  
  
“Oh, morning Audrey…” Evie rolled over onto her back with an even bigger yawn.  
  
“Good morning. Not that I need to remind you, but you’ve got a sold out show at the Palladium tomorrow night and one last fitting for it in two hours. Mal and Lonnie are already on their way to pick you up.”  
  
“Okay, okay.”  
  
Evie stretched, trying so hard to open her eyes. It was like they were glued shut.  
  
“Evie? Are you good?”  
  
“Mhm.”  
  
“Yeah? How many fingers am I holding up?” Audrey teased.  
  
“Seven,” Evie yawned. “Do I really need to be bodyguarded for an outfit fitting?”  
  
“If anyone’s going to get to you through your affinity for fashion, it’s going to be your mother,” Audrey told her simply.  
  
“What’s she going to do? Enchant a scarf to strangle me?” if Evie’s eyes were open she would’ve rolled them.  
  
“The woman’s a card-carrying witch, Evie. I’m sure of it. I wouldn’t put something like that past her. Now like I said, Mal and Lonnie are already on the road, Franca is ready and waiting at the boutique, and you guys can pick up some Starbucks or something on the way.”  
  
“Mhm,” Evie lost the fight to keep her eyes open. “So what are you up to today?”  
  
“Hyping up your coast to coast tour all over social media. The more sold out shows we bring in, the better. I want those screaming fans lined up in the streets.”  
  
“Mhm,” falling back asleep, Evie murmured incoherently.  
  
“…Yeah, Evie, definitely pick up some Starbucks on the way.”

* * *

After a shower, Evie was awake enough to properly answer the door with a smile when the doorbell rang.  
  
“Ride’s here,” Mal said, waiting out in the hallway.  
  
There she was, donning her sunglasses and a leather jacket so dark purple it almost looked black.  
  
“Morning, Mal,” Evie said pleasantly. “I’m almost ready. Here, come in.”  
  
She opened the door wide enough to let Mal inside, then shut it behind her.  
  
“I wouldn’t let Audrey find out you’re still answering doors without checking the peephole first,” Mal teased.  
  
“Oh, yeah…let’s not tell her about that, okay?”  
  
Mal didn’t say anything else, just stood and waited by the front door while Evie went into her bedroom to get her purse.  
  
She knew nothing about Mal and Lonnie. At Audrey’s behest they had all gone out for breakfast the day before, but all Evie got out of that was the impression that Lonnie wasn’t one to be messed with, and that Mal wasn’t much of a talker. But Evie figured it was fitting for bodyguards. She returned to the foyer when she was sure she had everything in her purse, finding Mal studying the few family photos hanging on the wall.  
  
“When’s the last time you heard from your mom?” Mal asked.  
  
“Does allegedly running a car into me count? It’s been two months, the night I let her go as my manager. I haven’t seen or heard from her since. She has a really nice manor outside the city, but as far as I can tell she hasn’t been there in a while. I don’t know where she is.”  
  
“That makes her dangerous,” Mal mused.  
  
Evie joined Mal at her side, where they both looked on at the picture of a child-aged Evie and her mother also standing side by side.  
  
“That’s what Audrey says too. I admit that we don’t exactly have the greatest or most healthy of mother-daughter relationships, but…she’s still my mom.”  
  
“Doesn’t mean anything,” Mal said a bit sharply, looking to Evie. “Sometimes that just makes her even more dangerous.”  
  
Suddenly realizing the edge to her own voice, Mal turned away from both Evie and the picture on the wall as if shaking herself out of a daze.  
  
“…Anyway, that’s what Lonnie and I are here for,” Mal gestured at the front door. “Your chariot awaits, pop princess.”  
  
She was right behind Evie as they descended the stairs, and parked outside the gate of the apartment complex was a sleek black car. Mal opened the door for Evie, and slid into the backseat after her. Evie was a bit surprised, expecting Mal to take the passenger seat and join Lonnie up front.  
  
“So, Audrey says Starbucks?” Lonnie said over her shoulder, hands on the wheel as the car idled.  
  
“She got to you too, huh?” Evie smiled shyly. “Yeah, if we go through the drive-thru I can get us all something.”  
  
“No worries. We have an expense account,” Lonnie happily told her, beginning to drive.  
  
It was a quiet ride through the heart of the city, Evie and the two strangers really not having much to say to each other. Decidedly put off by the silence, Evie was the one to break it.  
  
“I’m sorry you two got dragged into this. I’m sure you could’ve had better jobs than just babysitting, but, well, Audrey can get a little high-strung and—”  
  
“A celebrity’s a celebrity,” Mal interrupted. “It’s hardly babysitting.”  
  
“…Oh, I’m really not much of a celebrity,” Evie quietly denied. “Audrey just likes to build it up that way. I’m just starting out. Haven’t even gone on my first tour yet.”  
  
“‘Not much of a celebrity’,” Lonnie giggled. “I’ll admit, when Audrey came to us, I had never heard of you before. So I looked you up. You say 'not much of a celebrity’ but your YouTube views say otherwise. And oh my god, can you sing or can you  _sing??”_  
  
“Thank you,” Evie beamed at the praise, then looked to Mal, who just shook her head.  
  
“I didn’t listen,” she said without a hitch. “I’ll just hold out until I can hear it live.”  
  
“…Well, being my bodyguards will get you two the best seats in the house. Complete with backstage passes,” Evie teased.  
  
Silence fell again after a short round of laughs, and this time Evie simply let it sit.  
  
After the pitstop for breakfast and coffee, the car eventually came to a halt outside a familiar boutique, where Mal had Evie wait in the backseat while she checked around.  
  
“…You guys, this is silly, I come here all the time,” Evie frowned as Mal got out of the car.  
  
Standing out on the curb, with her hand on the car door, Mal ducked her head back inside for a second.  
  
“And if I was your mother, this is exactly the kind of place I would hit first,” she said, going on to close the door and make some rounds.  
  
Lonnie watched Mal through the window, watched her circle the building once, twice, and then head inside.  
  
“…You know, there really  _isn’t_  any proof that my mother is trying to hurt me,” Evie quietly said. “She was upset about being fired, and she made a vaguely threatening remark, but that’s it. Then two months later some guy crashes his car into mine and takes off running? That could’ve been anyone, who’s to say my mom had anything to do with it?”  
  
“Audrey, apparently,” Lonnie remarked. “Better safe than sorry. She told us you two agreed on two weeks; two weeks of Mal and I doing our jobs and keeping you safe. If nothing happens after two months and two weeks, then you’re probably right, there’s probably nothing to worry about. Mal and I will move on to whatever job comes next.”  
  
Mal came back with what was obviously the “all clear” signal, so both Evie and Lonnie left the car to join her.  
  
Evie couldn’t deny that there was something nice about having Lonnie and Mal on either side of her as she strolled into the boutique. Not that she had felt anything remotely close to in danger ever since her mother vanished, but still. Inside was a tall, gangly, and eccentrically-dressed woman, looking slightly flustered and off-put as she strutted forward to meet the trio.  
  
“Evie!! Who  _are_ these  _ghastly_ people??” she demanded, nastily eyeing Mal especially for snooping around the store moments earlier.  
  
“Franca, these are my bodyguards,” Evie giggled.  
  
“Ghastly?” Mal snapped.  
  
Out of the corner of her eye, Evie could see Lonnie chuckling under her breath.  
  
“Ahh, bodyguards,” Franca’s eyes twinkled. “A superstar. I knew it. Screaming fans, an entourage, of course my sapphire starlet needs twenty-four hour protection.”  
  
“Actually, they—”  
  
“Nothing but the very best for Evie!” the fashionista interrupted. “I have the perfect outfits for you! Come, we’ll start your fittings!”  
  
“I’ll be outside,” Mal muttered, turning on her heels and gladly forsaking high-end fashion for guard duty.  
  
Lonnie patted Evie’s shoulder with a smile.  
  
“I handle fashion much better than Mal does,” she said. “Eyeing the latest looks of the stars is just one of many job benefits.”  
  
Evie started after Franca, gesturing for Lonnie to follow.  
  
“Come and enjoy the show.”

* * *

Mal was in the car when Evie had finished her fittings, nonetheless vigilant. She was back out on the sidewalk the moment she spotted Lonnie and Evie stepping out of the boutique, opening the car door for Evie again.  
  
“Well, that takes care of my schedule for the day,” Evie said, faking a sigh of relief as if her day had dragged on and on.  
  
“Back home you go,” Mal nodded.  
  
“…Back home,” Evie murmured. “…Right.”  
  
Suddenly, right then and there, it struck Evie what felt so nice about having Lonnie and Mal at her side when she walked through the doors of the boutique.  
  
Simply having someone at her side.  
  
“Come on, you have a show tomorrow night,” Mal urged a distracted Evie inside the car. “You should rest and relax.”  
  
They were back on the road again, Evie watching the cityscape whizz past.  
  
“What are you two going to do with the rest of the day off?” she wondered.  
  
Lonnie shook her head.  
  
“We don’t have the rest of the day off. Our next stop is the Palladium.”  
  
“Oh, like checking backstage, memorizing exits, making sure no one’s rigged a spotlight to fall on me at the last second?” Evie joked.  
  
“You watch too much tv,” Mal chided right back.  
  
Well, it wasn’t like Evie had much else to do with her free time.  
  
Mal saw Evie all the way up to her apartment door, insisting on it instead of leaving her at the gate of the complex.  
  
“I guess I’ll see you and Lonnie tomorrow,” Evie said in the doorway.  
  
Mal had a thoughtful expression on her face, lingering out in the hallway instead of heading back to the car.  
  
“You ever get nervous before a show?” she curiously asked.  
  
Evie didn’t know why Mal taking an interest made her smile so.  
  
“Actually, no. Not once. It’s like I really was meant to be on the stage,” she answered.  
  
Another moment of thoughtfulness from Mal.  
  
“Then we’ll be here tomorrow night to pick you up for the concert,” she said with a nod.  
  
“Okay.”  
  
With a wave, Mal was gone, and with a small sigh, Evie closed the door and retreated inside.  
  
Into her quiet, empty apartment with a quiet and empty afternoon ahead of her.


End file.
